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United States Patent | 5,267,672 |
Jacobsen ,   et al. | December 7, 1993 |
A rotatable auger is disposed within an ice chest to direct ice through an opening into a tubular conduit through which runs a flexible looped cable. Plastic paddles are fixed to the cable at spaced intervals and engage with ice received within the conduit and advance the ice through the conduit to an above-the-counter transparent display segment of the conduit having an outer transparent plastic tube surrounding an inner transparent plastic tube through which the conveyed ice is visible. The ice is conveyed to a discharge opening where a user activated gate valve controls ice discharge. An ice return tube directs undispensed ice back to the ice chest.
Inventors: | Jacobsen; Sam J. (Middleton, WI); Bigalke; Jody W. (New Lisbon, WI) |
Assignee: | Leer Manufacturing Limited Partnership (New Lisbon, WI) |
Appl. No.: | 925057 |
Filed: | August 4, 1992 |
Current U.S. Class: | 222/159; 62/344; 198/716; 198/733; 198/860.3; 222/131; 222/144.5; 222/146.6; 222/227 |
Intern'l Class: | B67D 005/38 |
Field of Search: | 222/129.1,131,144.5,146.6,159,227,228,241,331,415,561 62/344 198/716,733,735.3,860.3,860.4,860.5 |
2249588 | Jul., 1941 | Waddle | 198/860. |
2652808 | Sep., 1953 | Wagner | 198/735. |
4093066 | Jun., 1978 | Mitchell et al. | 198/860. |
4871060 | Oct., 1989 | Dahl et al. | 198/716. |
5104007 | Apr., 1992 | Utter | 222/146. |
5112477 | May., 1992 | Hamlin | 222/146. |
5165255 | Nov., 1992 | Alvarez et al. | 222/146. |